Tommy Brown

All my life I knew Tommy Brown

We grew up together in the same hometown

I never thought Tommy was such a bad guy

But folks would always whispered when he walked by

Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown meanest boy in all the town

Everybody said he'd turned out bad

They said he had stole and I guess he had

But nobody offered him a helping hand

They just went and said over again

Oh Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown meanest boy in all the town

I loved a girl named Betty Lou strange thing was Tom loved her too

She was kind to him and seemed to understand

That if somebody loved him he could be a man

The three of us were the best of friends

And stuck together through thick and thin

But we all knew that the time would come

She'd have to choose between me and Tom

Oh Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown meanest boy in all the town

Then came Pearl Harbor and the war was on

I answered the call and so did Tom

When we laughed at Betty we would plainly see

She had made her choice and the guy was me

We landed in Hadley the fighting was hard

Many were dying and the rest were tired

Every man there gave his very best

But who was the one that I'd fought to rest

Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown bravest boy in all the town

We were both in a fox hole the bullets were flying

When an enemy soldier slipped up behind

He aimed at me but Tom acted fast

He jumped between and I heard the blast

I got the soldier too late I could see

'Cause Tom stopped the bullet that was meant for me

His body crumpled the smoke cleared away

And it seemed to me he had a smile on his face

So Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown bravest boy in all the town

We buried him there and left across the sea

Where I wrote these words he died for me

And nobody knew but the one of us he died to save the boy she loved

Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown bravest boy in all the town

Tom, Tom, Tommy Brown bravest boy in all the town